Best Weekend Ever

What I'm doing: This past weekend could not have gotten any better! From start to finish, it was amazing!

Friday, October 12th

My weekend started on Friday because I skipped Spanish to go with my host brother to the institution he works at. He teaches English there 5 days a week. We left the house bright and early at 6:20am because he works in Grecia, which is 45 minutes away. We got there and he introduced me to the other English teachers. He does not work at a high school, but rather an institution ran by the government. He said there are some English classes, some business classes, etc. Lots of different classes there.

I started off in his classroom, but then one of the other English teachers wanted my help in her class. We played some games, and I talked to them about who I was and what I was doing in Costa Rica. They were learning about summary vs. paraphrasing. I was in their class for 40 minutes before I went back to Juan Manuel's class.

They were learning about directions, so he had them get into pairs and create cities. They had to name the streets and put restaurants, churches, public bathrooms, and other places in their cities. Juan Manuel had to leave to make copies, so I was "in charge" of the class for awhile. I walked around and helped them with vocabulary and talked with them. I love getting to know new people and practicing Spanish and English with them. One of the groups even named a street after me!

The class goes from 7:30am-12:30pm, with a half hour break inbetween. After they made the cities, we walked around and got "tours" of each city and practiced giving directions. Juan Manuel also played a video called Gringo Pinto. It has lots of slang words and talks about giving directions to white people who are visiting Costa Rica. I wish I understood what it said...

Once the class got out, Juan Manuel and the other English teachers and I went to the mall for lunch. While we were there, there was another mini earthquake. Juan Manuel did not feel it, but me and the rest of the teachers did. I was chatting with the other teachers about life, and they asked me how old I was. I replied that I was 20 and they said, "You are so young!" After a 45 minute lunch break, we had to be back in the school until 3:30. We talked and I met a few other ladies there who were visiting. I loved being in the classroom, and I wish I could miss class more often to help out in his classroom. I love helping new people and practicing with them. I feel like I am really impacting and getting to know new people.

Saturday, October 13th

We left at 6am to head to the beach...I thought I would sleep a little bit in the car, but I was too excited to sleep! I went with Ashli and Chandler. My host brother drove and one of his friends, Manfred, came with us as well. We went to a beach near Guanacaste, on the Pacific side. The drive to the beach is 4 hours long. We stopped several times, including one to take a picture by a giant ox! I have no idea why it was on the side of the road, but it was funny. My host brother did not know either.

We finally got to the beach and it was beyond perfect paradise. I thought last weekend in Manuel Antonio was pretty, but this beach was even better, and more deserted! We set up camp under a tree, and the boys wanted to go snorkeling. We layed and talked and read while they went in the water. A little while later, we switched with them and went in the water. It was perfect to just float and talk. Chandler is scared of fish, so just getting her in the water was a big deal. All of a sudden my brother runs to the water and says, "Do you see what's in the water?!" All three of us run to the shore because we thought it was something right next to us. He really saw a whale in the distance...haha. He had never seen a whale before! It was flicking its tail and splashing in the distance. So beautiful.

We got out to let the boys get back in the water when it started to rain. We put all of the stuff in the car, and Juan Manuel ran back into the ocean. We were already soaked, so we followed. (Don't worry, there was no thunder or lightning this time!) The rain looked beautiful hitting the ocean water. I have never swam in the ocean while it was raining. In Oregon it is way too cold for that. The rain stopped after 15 minutes.

My host brother, Chandler and I decided to swim to the island. There is a cave in the island that you can climb to! We swam there, which was a little tiring. Juan Manuel had to help us get onto the island because there were some rocks. It was totally safe, though. Chandler watched the boogie board that we used while my bro and I climbed to the cave. It was a decent sized cave that had lots of bats in it! We swam back and I was SO exhausted. The boys played in the water some more as Ashli, Chandler and I ate beans, tortillas and apples for lunch. Meal of champions. Here's a picture of my host brother climbing the island. I did not get any pictures of me climbing it.

Chandler, Ashli and I changed our clothes behind two towels, which was another adventure. And then we went to Juan Manuel's uncle's house to shower. He lives in the town of Tamarindo. After showering we walked around the cute town. There were some stores that we looked in. We got smoothies and chatted for awhile. Next to the smoothie place was a crepe place. We got a nutella and banana crepe, and it melted in my mouth. SO delicious.

We drove back to the first beach we were at because we were going to look at turtles! Juan Manuel's uncle has been giving tours for over 22 years. He was the one who had the trail in the mountain made. It was around 7pm and very dark. We had to use special red flashlights that don't confuse the turtles. We hiked through a mountain for 10 minutes to get to the beach on the other side. Our guide did the whole thing barefoot, which I thought was crazy.

We got to see one momma turtle making the nest. She was flicking sand everywhere. The Uncle was not with us, so we left that turtle to go try and find him. Evidentally you are not supposed to leave a turtle once you find one, because there might not be another one the whole night. We ran back to the same turtle later because she was going back into the water. There was another tour there with a different guide. The tour had lots of people in it, including children. They were using real, bright flashlights and chasing the turtle. Our guide told us the momma did not get to lay her eggs; she probably got scared with so many people around. Hopefully she went back to lay her eggs another night. Lots of the other tour guide just want to show the people the turtles, and get the money. They do not care about the wildlife, which is very sad.

We sat on the beach while waiting for the uncle. He tried to find another turtle for us to see, but there were not any more. I loved just sitting on the beach, though. There was no moon, so we could see the stars soo clearly. There was a storm far off in the distance, so we got to see lightning flash across the sky far away. The waves were glowing, too, which was incredible. There is a special plankton that makes them glow. The uncle told us it was a sign that the beach was very clean, and had pure water. It was magical to watch. Although we did not get to see any other turtles, I was so content. Getting to see so much beauty in one day was amazing. Chandler and I had a great conversation about God and how He works in lives.

We left the turtle beach around 8:30pm. The uncle took Ashli and Manfred in his car, and Chandler and I rode with Juan Manuel. The road was full of potholes so we tried to save the car a little by dividing the weight. The three of us had a great conversation about God, as well. How little we felt on that beach, and how magnificent God is. Those connections and conversations will stick with me for my whole life. Too often we waste our days talking about things that don't matter. I hope that I can work on having real, true conversations with people more often. That's what we were made for. :)

We ate dinner at a place on the side of the road, and left to head home around 9:30pm. We still had a 3 hour drive ahead of us...I love riding in the car, though. We listened to worship music and tried to sleep. Once we got back to San Ramon, Juan Manuel had to drop everyone off at their houses, so we did not get back to ours until 2am. So, incredibly, late. It was such a perfect day, though. Filled with fun adventures, and good conversations, and memories that I will never, ever forget.

Sunday, October 14th

After getting only 4 hours of sleep, I got up early to go to Zarcero with Ashli and her host mom! The drive to that city is very pretty through the countryside. We got to the town (around 40 minutes away), and walked around the gardens. I was very excited to be there because it was on my list of places to see! I saw a picture on Pinterest over the summer, and knew that I wanted to come visit.

There were trees and plants that were made into many different types of shapes. Some were faces, some were animals. My favorite was the dinosaur! There was also a house of flowers. The gardens would be a perfect place for a wedding. It was sunny and beautiful while we were outside exploring. Ashli's host mom had packed some fruit for us, and we sat outside under a tree and ate it.

Then, her mom told us mass was starting soon, so we went to that as well. I wanted to see and attend a Catholic mass while I was in Costa Rica. The church was absolutely stunning, but the mass itself was very boring and dull. A lot of sitting down and standing up. The pastor talked really fast, and it was difficult for me to understand what he was saying.

After the service, we went to brunch at this cute restaurant. I ordered a sandwich and it was very yummy. It was great practice for my Spanish to talk with her host mom. We discussed the topic of mass. Her mom said it was about money, and how it's not really our money, but God's. You cannot take money with you to heaven. It was fun to spend time with some new people and practice my Spanish.

After we got back from Zarcero, I took a 4 hour nap...this weekend was exhuasting but so worth every moment. :)

Monday, October 15th

I went with Sophie, one of my friends from the English class I help with on Thursdays at church, Mariah, and a friend of Sophie's whose name is Richard. Richard has a girlfriend from England, so he wanted to practice his English like Sophie. We met at the bus station at 10:30am, so I got to sleep in. Even then, my body woke up at 6:30am. I tried to sleep in until 7:30, but even that was difficult.

We first traveled to Naranjo, where we had to transfer busses. We stopped by the church in Naranjo because there were cute turtles in a pond outside the park. Naranjo is similar to San Ramon, but it is not very pretty or exciting. We then got on another bus to get to Sarchi.

Sarchi is a very touristy place with lots of gift shops. I got to do some shopping, which was nice, but my favorite part was the ox carts. The carts were SO beautiful. It must take the people a very long time to finish them. We went to an artisan place, but there were not very many shops open. A lot of the shops were destroyed from the earthquakes, which was sad. All of the pottery was broken on the ground. :(

We then walked to the main center of town where the world's largest ox cart was! We took lots of fun pictures, and then went to lunch. I had a yummy meal of corn, egg, chicken, rice, beans and salad! It was $6 for the whole thing, but I could not finish it. There was so much food!

After lunch we took both busses home to San Ramon. I loved spending the day with Sophie and Richard. They are both so nice, and it was fun to help them with English as they helped us with Spanish. God continues to place the best people in my life here!

What I'm thinking about: What a perfect weekend full of fun adventures. Hope you all had just as fun of a weekend as I did! I am very thankful I had a good weekend because so much happened back at home in Oregon. I missed a fun family party, and it was homecoming/alumni weekend at my university. I am blessed to have such great family and friends in Costa Rica as well. :)

Con mucho amor.

Manuel Antonio

What I'm doing: Sorry I am so behind on blog posts! Life gets crazy sometimes, though. :) This will be a quick post about last weekend in Manuel Antonio. Later I will post about this past weekend, which was even better!

Friday (10/5/12) we left in the afternoon. We rented a van to take us to Manuel Antonio, and the driver was very nice. It cost around $20 for the van for each of us, which was only a little more money than if we took the public bus. We were singing along to country songs and having a great time. My host brother told me about a crocodile bridge that we should stop by on the way. People feed the crocodiles, so they hang out under the bridge. I have never seen them in the wild, and it was kind of scary! But a very neat experience.

Friday night we wanted to celebrate Mariah's birthday. One of our friends had told us to go to Bamboo Jam, a restaurant and bar. We all got dressed up and called a taxi, when the driver told us that Bamboo Jam was closed...we were disappointed. He took us to Mar Luna instead, which was a really pretty place with cute lights and yummy food. I got a hamburger, and we all took lots of pictures in our dressed up outfits. We went to a club/disco. It was ladies night so we got in for free and had free drinks! We were the only ones in the whole place, so it was really fun dancing and singing in our group. We had to take a taxi back to the hostel, and the taxi drivers lied to us and charged us more than necesssary...which was sad. But we learned our lesson. :)

Saturday (10/6/12) we got up and ate breakfast at the hostel. We thought it was going to be a fruit breakfast, and it ended up being bread. That's it. Just bread. We paid $2 more a night for...only bread. But that's okay, another lesson learned. As we were eating, one of the guys that works at the hostel came out to the main room. Not only was he not wearing a shirt and rocking a belly shirt, but he also was still drunk and wearing sunglasses. He asked us what we were doing for the day and we said that we wanted to go parasailing and to the beach. He called someone and told us how much money it would be. Then he proceeded to tell us that he was going to come with us to the beach... At that point we grabbed our stuff and ran to the bus stop.

We got to the park, which cost $10. I was wearing a maxi dress, which was a huge mistake. It was SO hot, and we had to walk for 15 minutes in the park before we actually got to the beach. But when we got there, it was complete paradise. The water was so blue, and the sand was pretty and white.We floated in the water and walked around the beach area. I got to see a huge iguana, which was neat! I also found some beach glass to bring home with me.

After the beach we went to el Avion for lunch. It is a giant airplane! The food was SO yummy. It was American food, which I have been missing. I had fried calamari and a ceaser salad. I shared apple pie with warm ice cream for dessert. Incredible food. The inside of the plane is a bar, which we did not eat in. But it was incredible to see the plane!

After lunch we just went back to the hostel and stayed there all night. I took a nap, showered, and then we studied for history test. We ordered pizza in the hostel and had a nice night there.

On Sunday (10/7/12) Rachel, Mariah and I went parasailing! The day earlier, as we were waiting for the bus to go home, when a guy approached us and asked if we were staying in Pura Vida Hostel. He was the contact person that our drunk friend earlier had called. He said we needed to pay $10 each for a deposit, and return the next day to actually parasail. I felt a little uneasy about the whole thing, but I really wanted to parasail. So we did. On Sunday we went back and found our same friend. He brought us to Charlie, a guy with dreads who was going to help us. We did not see any boat in sight, nor any parachute. I was starting to get worried but Charlie told us to wait in some lawn chairs on the beach. Finally another guy showed up and we got in the harnesses and put on life jackets. I was so nervous, but I was glad I had Mariah and Rachel on my side. Katy was so nice and stayed on the beach to take our picture!

Charlie had tried explaining that he would tell us when to walk, and then we would take steps at the same time and we would slowly drift into the air. We were harnessed onto the parachute and talking to Katy. Charlie and another guy were behind us, when all of a sudden I was trying to walk and I stubbed my toe and we were in the air! I did not even know what happened. It was so peaceful in the air. We could see for miles. I was kind of scared, since if we tipped over, we would just slide out of the harness seat thing, but it was beautiful in the air. I wish I brought my waterproof camera, but I left it at home in Oregon. We even got to see a dolphin when we were in the air! It was a priceless life moment.

The scary part was coming down because we got lowered into the ocean. I was screaming and holding onto Rachel and Mariah's hands. After we were in the ocean, the boat came and got us. The guy in the boat loaded up the parachute and rope. He brought us as close to shore as he could and we jumped out and swam back. It was literally one of the highs of my time in Costa Rica. I would love to go again! The company name is Flyfish Costa Rica, and they have a Facebook page if any of you want great service for parasailing.

On our way home smelled a strange odor and the van driver told us it was the palm trees. They are using the palm oil to make gasoline, which I thought was an interesting connection to our ecology class.

I will try to post tomorrow about this weekend. I have been doing so many fun things and I am trying to enjoy every second I have left here in Costa Rica. I have been here for 48 days, but I only have 56 left here. Very bittersweet.

Con mucho amor.

Caribbean College

What I'm doing: Here is a recap from the fieldtrip this weekend! It's going to be a long post, but I hope you all enjoy it. :)

Day 1: Thursday, September 27

We made many stops along the way to the Caribbean, which was very nice. It broke up the long trip. We stopped by a national park, and we talked about the impact roads have on the environment. We also stopped  by an "aquifiro" which is a water source for communities. We got to see the cutest baby cow while we were there! It had been born that morning, and it was adorable. We ate yummy lunch and started to realize how hot the Caribbean was going to be....

We are learning about the railroad, and we got to see the tracks and talk about the communities and slaves that worked near the railroad.

Our program director had told us that our hotel was going to be "ugly," and I believed her until we pulled up to the most beautiful paradise! There were palm trees everywhere, and the most beautiful view of the ocean! I was in heaven. We also had a pool that we were able to play in for awhile. There's our ecology professor in the background at the pool with us. It is funny how close you get with your professors when they are traveling and spending lots of time with you!

Before dinner we had a dance class that was really fun. I have not sweated that much from dancing in a long time, but I loved it. We did more Caribbean style dancing, that has some African influences as well. Afterwards we ate dinner, and it was really fun to get the opportunity to talk to different people than I normally do here in Costa Rica.

Day 2: Friday, September 28

We got to sleep in till 7am on Friday! It was crazy. :) We ate breakfast and had a talk by one of our director's teachers. He told us all about the culture of the Caribbean. He said they are the spice of the country. There are lots of black people in the Caribbean who came over from the islands nearby to help build the railroad many years ago.

After that we went to the town of Limon. We walked around and saw the ocean up close, and we saw the giant concrete Catholic church. It is interesting because in Limon they are much less focused on the religion aspect, and more focused on the spiritual relationship. We ate lunch and I tried this icky ginger juice that I did not like at all. We also learned about this building that was created to help the African Americans in the area.

We also got to visit a banana plantation which was SO neat to learn about! The bananas can only be out in the open for less than 5 hours. From the tree to the United States it takes less than 48 hours. We don't know why it takes mail so much longer. :) These strong guy put the huge things of bananas onto a wire contraption and pull the wire thing with 20+ bunches of bananas back to the factory place. They get rid of the bad ones and package the good ones. It was incredible to watch. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck one on the bus before we left.

We arrived in Puerto Viejo and it was pouring down rain. Chandler, Kristin and I had the cutest little bungalow that we stayed in! It was adorable. We walked into town that evening and did some shopping. I got a cute bag that says "Costa Rica, Pura Vida" in beaded letters. I also started getting some gifts for people.

We ate dinner at an adorable italian place, and we shared a yummy pizza!

That night we were finding lots of large bugs in our cute bungalow, so Kristin, Chandler and I all slept in a full size bed together. We thought the more people in bed, the safer we were. :) It was cozy and funny. We talked for awhile before falling asleep. I am so thankful that I have amazing friends with me in Costa Rica!

Day 3: Saturday, September 29

This was one of my favorite days in Costa Rica because we went to an indigenous community! They live in Bambu, and the people are called the Bribris. It was amazing to see they way they live, and their ideas about life. They make money by bringing in tourists. You can sleep in one of these huts, and eat their food and go on hikes. My ecology teacher says he does not know if it is just how they get tourists, by acting very "green" and "native," but I would like to think they genuinely like to live life this way.

We walked to a nearby river. The river that borders Costa Rica and Panama! It was really pretty there.

We also got to meet the medicine man for the community. We went into his hut and he talked to us about what he does. We also did a song and learned about the symbolism of the hut. There is always a fire going in the center, which represents the beginning of the world. After we left there was a couple who came from many miles away to meet with him and see if the wife could be healed.

After we left that community, we went to the last place we were going to stay the night in Cauhita. It is a beautiful little beach town!! We walked into town for dinner. I finally got to eat shrimp! I figured it was appropriate since we were so close to the coast. :) There were many drunk scrubby looking African Americans in this city, and one of my friends said it reminded her of Priates of the Caribbean, which I thought was really funny.

Day 4: Sunday, September 30

We got up bright and early to go snorkeling! I am not the biggest fan of putting my face in the water, but I knew I wanted to experience it in the Caribbean on this field trip! We took a boat off the coast in Cauhita. Chandler is afriad of fish, but I told her that we were going to conquer our fears on this trip. We held hands the whole time, but it made me feel better. The snorkeling was different from other places I have been too. The water was less clear and there were not as many fish, but it was still beautiful. My favorite were these little bright blue fish. Chandler and I were in the water for around 35 minutes, and then we got out. I was still excited that we both did it though!



After the boat ride, we hiked through the forest to get back to the hotel. That hike was where I saw all of the amazing animals. We saw monkeys, raccoons, insects, sloths...SO many beautiful animals that I have never seen in the wild before. I felt like I was walking through a zoo! We had to cross several rivers, which we were not expecting. I finally gave up on trying to put my yoga pants back on after crossing, so I was just walking around with my swimsuit bottoms on. Not the most comfortable, but it was way less of a hassle.

I had to go to the bathroom, and we found one on the way. Luckily Sandy had some tissue that I could use. :) Sandy works for the International Programs Office at my college. She gets to travel to all the different programs to see how they are doing. She had not came to Costa Rica in over 5 years, because normally there are no problems with the program. She does not have to check in on it as much as some of the others. She is one of the sweetest ladies I know. It is funny because she is married to my boss at college! I work in the library, and he works there too. 

We made it back to the hotel, rinsed off and went to eat lunch. After that we had a lonnnnng bus ride ahead of us: 5 hours. Kristin and I watched a movie on her iPad and I talked with my friends. I took a hour long nap, also. I was very happy to arrive back home in San Ramon, though!

No field trips this weekend, but we are going to Manuel Antonio, a beach on the Pacific side. I really want to go parasailing when I am there! And hike around the forest. :)

Con mucho amor.

My heart

What I love: This beautiful picture. Don't worry this is my last post for the day! :)



From: here

Con mucho amor.

Study Abroad Blogs

What I'm reading: I thought I would compile a list of my friend's blogs who are also studying abroad! Junior year is the year that everyone goes abroad, so there are quite a few. :)

• Leanne is one of my sorority sisters who is in China right now!
• Kristin is traveling with me in Costa Rica. :)
• Courtney and I went to high school together and had every single Spanish class together. Now she is is Mexico and I am in Costa Rica. It is funny that we both are studying abroad to practice Spanish at the same time.
• Chandler is also stuck with me in Costa Rica for the semester!
• Kat is another one of my sorority sisters that is studying abroad. She is in France for the whole year! She is very good about posting about everything that happens there. So fun to read.
• Sydney is one of my closest friends in Costa Rica and she is also blogging!!
• Kiersten is Spain for a whole year!! Crazy girl, but she is having so many wonderful adventures.
• Mariah is also with me in Costa Rica. She is the official blogger for our college.
• Zack and I have been friends for years and years. He is studying abroad in London for the semester! He is also an RA there and gets to travel and explore over there!
• Sarah is also studying abroad in Costa Rica, but she is in a different program than me. She got to help deliver a baby the other day! So exciting. She is also a Christian so it is great to relate to her about all those things. :)

Enjoy reading about everyone else's adventures.

Con mucho amor.

Animales durante la gira

What I'm doing: We got back from our latest fieldtrip last night at 8:30pm. We had class today at 8:30am...less than 12 hours to recouperate! This post is going to be about the amazing animals we got to see this weekend! I will write another post later this week about everything else we did on the field trip.

• Poision dart frog: We saw this at one of the places we stayed. The bright colors caught our eye in the tree. I have never seen one of these in the wild, so that was really neat.



• Baby and mom monkey! This was my favorite thing that I saw this weekend. We saw the momma monkey in the tree, and then we saw her trying to keep her baby on her back! It was SO SO cute. The baby is so little and tiny. I am really glad that we got to see this. :)

• Baby cow and its mom: The very first day we stopped by a small community, and saw this little cow that had been born that morning! It was precious and could barely walk. Yes, this is not really wildlife, but it was just too cute not to write about.

• Spider/scorpion mix: This disgusting thing was on our bathroom floor!! There were a ton of bugs in this bungalow that Kristin, Chandler, Syd and I stayed in for the night. Kristin, Chandler and I all slept in the same bed because we were scared of the bugs. Luckily we did not find this one until the morning when we were leaving. It was GIANT!



• SLOTHs: We saw a few on the side of the road while we were driving to the various places, but this one we saw on our walk through the jungle. Jose found it in the trees, but it took me awhile to see it. It blended in with the tree trunk. It just sat there, and I did not see its face. But I was still very excited, because I wanted to see a sloth for the past month while I have been here!

• White faced monkey: This was the first type of monkey that we saw on our nature walk through the forest after snorkeling. There were 5 of them in the trees, and this one got SO close to us! They normally travel in families and packs, so they are never alone. These monkeys were smaller than some of the others we saw.

• Racoon: This guy came right next to us when we were standing in the forest talking! I was surprised because we were being very loud, so they must be used to people coming near their territory. It started digging right in front of us for food. I did not want to be too close to it, though, since they can be aggressive and dangerous.



Well, that's all for now! I will try to write a longer post about the rest of the field trip soon. :) Anyone have any questions about my trips or things they are wondering about the culture?!

Con mucho amor.